Introduction

As a community builder, I sometimes get into conversations with EA-skeptics that aren't going to sway the person I'm talking to. The Tree of Questions is a tool I use to be more sure of having effective conversations, faster identifying the crux. Much of this is inspired by Scott Alexander's "tower of assumptions" and Benjamin Todd's ideas of The Core of EA.

The Tree

a trunk with core ideas almost all EAs accept - and without which you have to jump through some very specific hoops in order to agree with standard EA stances.
Branches for different cause areas or ideas within EA, such as longtermism. If you reject the trunk, there's no point debating branches.

All too often, I find people cutting off a branch of this tree, and then believing they've cut down the entire thing. "I'm not an EA because I don't believe in [...]

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Outline:

(00:09) Introduction

(00:34) The Tree

(02:02) Altruism

(02:26) Concede:

(03:02) Debate briefly:

(03:26) Effectiveness

(03:49) Concede:

(04:28) Debate briefly:

(05:09) Comparability

(05:31) Concede:

(06:30) Institutional Trust

(07:19) Further Discussions

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First published:
May 6th, 2025

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/4vkwm7drWB9oLNhbx/ea-as-a-tree-of-questions

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“EA as a Tree of Questions” by OGTutzauer🔸